Federal authorities arrested a Department of Energy electrical engineer Thursday amid allegations he attempted to assist the Iran-backed Houthis while purchasing materials associated with explosives and drones.

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday. Prosecutors allege Ellaboudy traveled to Yemen and later provided technical assistance intended to improve the terrorist organization’s communications capabilities.

During a recorded conversation in October 2025, Ellaboudy allegedly said he paid approximately $1,400 to be smuggled across the Oman-Yemen border and wanted to travel to the Houthi-controlled Yemeni constitutional capital of Sanaa, according to a Casey Local report citing the FBI affidavit.

The FBI began investigating Ellaboudy after learning that he had purchased precursor chemicals commonly associated with homemade explosives, including acetone and sodium bisulfate, as well as components used in drones, according to The Associated Press.

The complaint also alleges Ellaboudy took sick leave from his government job in December 2024 after claiming he had been exposed to highly concentrated nitric acid, which the DOJ described as a chemical commonly used in constructing explosive materials.

Ellaboudy traveled from Washington state to Oman in September 2025 using an official passport previously issued to him while he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the DOJ’s Thursday press release. He allegedly crossed from Oman into Yemen intending to reach Sanaa.

Ellaboudy allegedly told FBI informants that he had been smuggled into and out of Yemen and hoped to reach Sanaa to establish government-level connections, though he ultimately failed to reach the capital, according to the AP’s review of the FBI affidavit.

After returning to the U.S., Ellaboudy allegedly told Customs and Border Protection officials that he had traveled to the region as part of a government mission involving missile defense systems, according to the AP. Investigators subsequently interviewed his DOE supervisor, who said Ellaboudy had no authorized international travel and was not assigned to such a missile inspection program.

The Department of Energy and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Federal investigators later introduced confidential human sources into the investigation, including one who purported to be working for a Houthi “Colonel,” according to the DOJ’s press release.

Ellaboudy allegedly used his electrical engineering expertise to test and modify solar generators and communications equipment intended for a mobile communications center. Prosecutors say he also provided schematics and diagrams, explained how power and communications systems could be integrated and researched additional equipment that could improve the Houthis’ communications capabilities.

The DOE said the alleged activity did not involve an attempt to attack the Hanford Site, where Ellaboudy worked.

“This matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce, and at no time was there a threat to the safety or security of the site,” DOE Hanford Field Office Manager Ray Geimer said in the DOJ’s press release.

The Houthis have controlled Yemen’s de jure capital since 2014 and are backed by Iran. Fighting between Houthi forces and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government has recently intensified, according to the AP.

Ellaboudy is scheduled to make his first appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Richland on Friday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The FBI’s Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case. The charges are allegations, and Ellaboudy is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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